


Once More with Feeling

by Miragefiction



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Awkward First Times, Enthusiastic Consent, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, Post-Game(s), Post-Golden Deer Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:35:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22824988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miragefiction/pseuds/Miragefiction
Summary: Claude and Byleth have defeated Nemesis, but will they be able to face their final challenge together ... their feelings for one another?I wanted to write some fun, flirty, awkward first time sex!
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth & Claude von Riegan, My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 8
Kudos: 222





	Once More with Feeling

With a final stroke of her sword, the battle was over. 

When the dust had cleared, Byleth rushed Claude off the field and into the medic’s tent.

“What happened?” Marianne asked, “Everyone was cheering and I—”

“His arm is broken pretty badly, I think,” Byleth explained. “He took quite a tumble.”

They sat him onto a cot and removed his jacket with significant difficulty and plenty of cursing from the subject at hand. After that, they opted to simply cut his shirt sleeve to get it out of the way. His long brown arm underneath was bruised and hanging at an odd angle. 

“It’s not broken,” Marianne said with visible relief. “Just dislocated.”

“That’s... Better?” Claude groaned. 

“It’s an easier fix, certainly. We have to pop it back into the joint, first. Professor, can you hold his arm?”

“Of course,” Byleth said.

“You—what?”

“Here, raise it up like this,” Marianne said, demonstrating. “And now push slowly to that side and—“

“Ah!” Claude grunted and clenched his teeth. He suddenly gasped and went pale as his shoulder snapped back into place with a rather alarming sound.

“It popped,” Byleth said unnecessarily. 

Claude swayed, but she held him steady. “Holy... Ah... Saints, I think I may pass out,” he mumbled.

Marianne was ready with a healing spell, but it wasn't quite enough. She handed him a vulnary which he drank immediately. “Apologies, that’s all I can spare. When we get back to the monastery we can heal you properly. For now, try not to move too much and I will get you a sling.”

“Thanks Marianne,” Claude said weakly, “I think.”

She smiled at him but turned to look out of the tent at the sound of a call for help in the distance. “I’m afraid I need to go check on the others. Will you be okay for a moment?”

“Of course. Go,” Byleth said. “I’ll watch after him.” 

Marianne nodded and ducked out of the tent and back onto the battlefield. 

Claude slumped against the thin pillows of the cot and sighed, long and hard. Byleth’s hand was still on his bare arm, her long fingers curved against his bicep in a familiar way even though she was quite sure this was the first time she’d ever touched him like this. She would have remembered the feel of the firm bundle of muscle, the warm strength radiating under the skin. 

He was looking up at her with a smile, tired and battered, but still smiling. 

“We’ve done it, my friend,” he said, “We won.”

She smiled back, feeling it spread across her face like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. Now that she knew he was okay, a rush of happiness and relief flooded over her. It felt like a revelation. A miracle. 

He reached out with his good arm and covered her hand with his own. She welcomed it, turning her wrist to squeeze his gloved fingers gently. 

“Victory, real and true?” she asked. “How did we do it? 

“Together,” he replied warmly. “You were amazing out there. I knew I could count on you. He fell for that feint exactly how we hoped.”

“It was your plan, after all,” she said softly. “Though, I do wish you took less risk for yourself. When that monster sent you rolling I nearly panicked...”

“But you didn’t. You followed through and we won.”

“Your shoulder, though...”

“Marianne said it will heal. I don’t intend on shooting anymore arrows for a while now, if I can help it. Besides, what use is an archer in peacetime, anyway? Shooting rabbits?”

He said it jokingly, but it made her breath catch for a moment. Peacetime? It felt so alien even to think about. “...About as much use as a mercenary, I imagine,” she said finally.

He smiled at her. “You’ve always been more than that, my friend.”

“Have I?” She asked, sitting carefully on the edge of the cot.

He blinked at her in surprise. “Of course!”

She shrugged. “Without you and Garreg Mach, I would probably still be out there fighting for coin.” 

“Ah,” he mumbled, glancing away. “I think you’re giving me too much credit.” 

“I don’t think so,” she said, looking down at their joined hands. “You’ve always been the one with the big dreams.” 

“You’re a part of those, you know.”

She looked up at his face again, meeting his eyes with an almost solemn expression. “Am I, truly?”

“...Yes,” he said evenly, though his half-second of hesitation spoke volumes. “I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

“Perhaps,” she admitted. “And now? Where do we go from here?”

“Back to Garreg Mach to celebrate, of course!”

“No, I meant... You and I.”

He went silent, staring down at their joined hands again with a deeply thoughtful expression. 

“At first,” he said slowly, “Before I really knew you, when I was young and reckless...” 

She smiled a little at that, wondering at the irony of him saying such a thing at only twenty-three and with a very recent injury caused by his own risky maneuvering. 

“When I first saw you...” he continued, unaware of her amusement at his expense, “I saw only how useful you were. You and that sword were a perfect combination... A set of convenient tools to manipulate Rhea, the church, and the alliance to get information, grow loyalty, win battles... I didn’t trust you, back then.”

Her eyes widened. A rare moment of complete honesty from him right now felt somehow significant, important. “I’m... I’m aware,” she said slowly. “At least, I knew that you had trouble getting close to people. As a teacher and friend, I was concerned for you.” 

He laughed a little at that, then winced. “You were always very perceptive, Teach.” He paused then, turning his handsome face to look up at her almost reverently. When he spoke again he was looking directly into her eyes, searching, pleading, almost as if he was admitting something very painful. “My point is that... You’re so much more than that to me now. I do trust you, with my life and... my heart. You... You’ve become very dear to me.”

There had been so many moments between them where she felt his growing affection and her own in return, this confession did not take her entirely by surprise. Still, he had always seemed to avoid the subject rather neatly, tempering it with friendly humor or turning it conveniently aside for some urgent duty. She thought she had an inkling as to how he truly felt, how much he cared, but it had become increasingly clear that he did not want to, or perhaps could not, act upon such feelings for whatever reason. 

It had confused her, of course, but she was used to that. She had wondered if she simply kept misreading him. Emotion of any sort was still nearly inscrutable, much less one so complex as love. Surely she was just a victim of wishful thinking. If anything, she had started to become inured to the fact that he intended to keep her at arm's length forever. 

Now though, he was holding her hand and looking up at her like that, talking about his heart... 

She suddenly realized she was staring at him in silence and holding her breath. She exhaled slowly. “Claude... I... I don’t know what to say...”

“Then don’t say anything yet. Just listen,” he asked.

She nodded, and he went on. 

“At some point during the time we spent together, or maybe it was when we were apart... You and my dream become inseparable,” he said, voice low and soft in a way that sent a tingle straight through to her bones. “I didn’t just need you to accomplish my goals... But I... I wanted to find a way to keep you beside me. I wanted us to work together not just to fulfill my ambition for peace, but because I wanted to be with you... for my own entirely selfish reasons.”

He turned her hand over in his, the warm leather of his glove sliding over her palm. “That’s okay, though, right?” He asked, “Do you... feel that way, too?” 

She somehow managed to speak even with the blood rushing through her ears like a hurricane. “I... I can’t say I’m happy about being used, but I also can’t say I’m surprised, either,” she said. “I know you had your reasons. I did, too. And I... I have always hoped... One day... You would say something like that.”

His eyes widened. “So... You...” 

She swallowed and continued. “I have been trying to find a purpose behind all this, the war, my past... I never had big lofty ambitions, not like you. But I... I needed answers. You showed me a path forward, perhaps, but I’ve taken every step by my own accord. Everything you’ve asked me to do, I’ve done willingly.” 

He nodded, smiling warily. “I’m glad to hear it.” 

“S-so,” she said, trying to keep the quaver out of her voice and failing spectacularly. “I’m determined to walk with you, beside you, for as long as I can... If you’ll let me.” 

His eyes crinkled with his smile. “Of... Of course. I’d love nothing more.”

She smiled back, but after a moment it wavered slightly. “You’re not planning on staying in Fodlan though, are you?”

The question caught him entirely off guard and his smile dropped like a stone. “Wh-what?”

“You have to go back to Almyra at some point, right? Now that the war is over?”

He blinked, then laughed in surprise mixed with awe. “I really have underestimated you, haven’t I?”

She wasn't laughing or smiling. She felt a sudden rush of indignation. “I did a lot of research on our new allies from Almyra. I came across a section on wyvern husbandry. I read that white wyverns are rare, so rare that they are supposedly only given to Almyran royalty. You think I didn’t notice that three ton clue flying around?” 

His sighed. “I told Nader bringing it was a bad idea, but one can’t look a gift dragon in the mouth... Not one from my father, at least.” 

“Your father, the king of Almyra?”

He paused then nodded. 

She was determined to turn the tide of the conversation back. “So when are you going back, then?”

He went silent for a long moment, looking down at his knees. “Soon,” he said finally. “I‘m afraid I have an important... appointment to keep.”

A feeling of slow dread crept up her throat. The question she didn’t want to ask had to be asked. Her voice sounded frustratingly small when she finally spoke. “I can’t go with you, though, can I?”

He shook his head slowly. “It’s not a matter of can’t but more of... shouldn’t.” 

She frowned, exasperated. “What do you mean?”

He sighed again and looked up at her. “It means... I wish you could come with me. I’d love to show it to you my homeland someday, but...”

“But...?” 

“But for now... Someone has to stay in Fodlan and keep order, protect the peace, lead the people so fighting won’t break out again while the alliance is still recovering. I can’t think of anyone more suited to that duty than you.”

“You want me to...” she said softly, eyes wide in shock. “You want me to rule Fodlan? Alone?”

“You won’t be alone,” he assured. “The alliance and the church will support you—“

“Yes, but you—!”

“I’ll come back!” He said in a sudden rush, so loudly it startled them both. He took a breath and continued in a more normal volume. “I’ll come back to you. I promise I will.” 

“Really?” she asked, hating that she needed the reassurance. “Can you really promise that?”

He looked at her then, every ounce of pretense drained from his posture and expression. He looked suddenly very young and very worried, or perhaps a little afraid, in a way she had never seen before. It seemed so startlingly human and real, an open vulnerability that was so incredibly magnetic she couldn’t stop herself from leaning forward towards him. His eyes grew a little wider, and then slowly closed as her lips touched his. 

It was clumsy and probably too much too fast, but she felt bold and pleading all at once. She wanted to feel his answer, the words he wouldn’t speak but that she had read clear as day in every lingering touch, in every burning gaze, with every soft word meant only for her ears. Now she could feel it too, warm against her mouth, pressing back and into her with something that sang of hunger. 

His hand came to rest on her cheek, sliding up behind her head and into her hair, pulling her impossibly closer, deepening the kiss with a sigh that made her chest ache. It was a surrender and a confirmation, an admission of long nights alone spent full of longing, a dam breaking on a carefully manicured facade. 

She was breaking too. The heart she didn’t have was shattering into a million bits and being rebuilt piece by piece with the taste of his mouth. It felt like a fire inside her, blazing through her body and centered only on him, so warm and alive and so very precious. His lips were surprisingly soft, and the scrape of his beard against her chin was raw and welcome. She took his face in both hands and held him there, the planes of his jaw firm and angular against her palms. She wanted to hold him close and never let him go again. 

He pulled away and for a moment she thought she might cry. 

“I’m sorry...” he said breathlessly. “I love you. I love you more than anything. I should have told you long ago. I should have kissed you and held you a hundred times by now and—“

“Just shut up,” she said, perhaps too harshly, but he closed his mouth with a snap. She reddened and took a deep breath to steady herself. “Just... Shut up and kiss me again. I’m done with pretty words right now.”

He smiled in a way that made her stomach flip-flop and simply nodded. 

When he kissed her this time it was softer but more sure, deliberate and purposeful, like something he had dreamed about doing for years. She melted against him, the tension in her neck and shoulders going all to jelly. There was relief in this kiss, relief and another slow building tension that grew deep in her belly and made her practically squirm with anticipation. 

She wanted both of his arms around her with an urgency that was almost startling in its intensity. She wanted to be held, to be kissed, and quite a few other things involving him and her in a state of undress, preferably in a location other than a battlefield medic’s tent. 

As the seconds went by and he kept kissing her like that, tongue intently slipping over hers and teeth grazing her lips, she started to ponder the logistics of jumping him right then and there. 

Unfortunately, snippets of a conversation just outside of the tent flap started to intrude into the warm haze of their embrace. 

“—They’re what?! I thought he was hurt!”

Marianne made a panicked noise. “Shh! J-just wait a few moments and I’m sure—“

“Good goddess, finally!” Leonie cackled. “Hilda, you owe me fifty bucks!”

Claude laughed against her mouth, and Byleth wanted to remember that sensation for a very long time. 

He leaned back very slightly until they were nose to nose and gazed into her eyes with such fondness she nearly combusted. “I think we may have visitors.”

“So we do,” she agreed reluctantly. “Shall we continue this... discussion... later, then?”

“Please,” he said, and kissed her again, sweetly right at the corner of her lips. “Will you meet me in the tower when we get back to the monastery? I have something I want to give you.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Well,” she said, blushing ear to ear. “I-I will certainly take you up on that.”

“Oh,” he said, as if just realizing the implication. “Not like that! I-I mean, well, if you want to—“

The other voices outside grew louder. 

“They’re just talking now, let’s go in!” 

Byleth stepped back as the group stampeded into the tent with some commotion and began peppering them with questions and congratulations, but through it all she didn’t let go of his hand.

—

When the feast was in full swing the next evening, Claude caught her eye and held it. He tilted his head back towards the door with a questioning look. They had been exchanging fleeting glances all day, but had barely spoken since returning from the battlefield. A warm tingle of excitement at the prospect of getting him alone again went through her from head to toe. 

She smiled mildly and nodded to him, excusing herself with some difficulty from a drunken conversation with several of their comrades. When she looked up again, he was already gone. Thankfully, she knew where to meet him.

When she entered the tower she was surprised to find it empty. “Claude?” She called hopefully, her voice echoing up the stairway. 

“Down here,” he responded, from the entrance. He came up to meet her carrying an armful of items including what looked like a large basket heaped with blankets. “Sorry I’m late. Had to grab a few things first.”

“What’s all this?” 

“Well, seeing as I interrupted your dinner and all, I figured it was only fair that I bring a bit of the feast to you.”

He uncovered the basket to reveal not only a whole roast chicken but also cheese, bread, and a large flagon of wine, two glasses, and several fat, yellow candles. 

She laughed. “You certainly know the way to this woman’s heart.” 

He beamed. 

They spent the next half hour eating, drinking, and laughing spread out on a pile of blankets in the highest room of the tower lit only by muted candle flame and moonlight. 

When they were done and the dinner things cleared away she scooted towards him to lean on his shoulder but hesitated. “Your arm...? How is it?”

“It’s a bit sore but fine otherwise. Manuela gave me some of the good stuff earlier.” 

“You’re sure?”

He nodded, and demonstrated by pulling her into an embrace with the appendage in question. “See?”

She sighed happily. “Good. Thank you for... all of this.”

“Of course, my fr... err... my dear.”

She laughed a little, one hand coming to rest on his chest.

He leaned down to kiss her and she felt his heartbeat quicken under her palm. He tasted like wine, warm and a little heady. It made her feel a bit dizzy, or maybe she had just drank too much herself. Either way, it was lovely. 

“So...” she said softly, leaning back just a little. “What was it that you wanted to give me?”

The small tremor of nervousness that passed over his features was intensely endearing. “Ah, well, um...” he mumbled, “I had a big speech planned and all, but I can’t quite remember it right now. But... I really just wanted you to have this.”

He reached into his pocket and drew out a ring. 

The green stone at the center flickered in the candlelight. She stared at it for a long moment, awestruck. 

“I... I thought you had to go back to Almyra,” she said finally, voice barely above a whisper. 

“I do.”

“But you want to... Marry me?”

“I do,” he repeated, smiling nervously. “If you’ll have me.”

She reached out to take the ring from his hand, but hesitated again. “But... How? When?”

He had the grace to look at least a little embarrassed at that. “Well, I’ll admit that I’m not sure of the exact logistics just yet, but I’m working on a plan.”

She sighed and shook her head in amazement. “Of course you are.”

“Look, we’ve got our whole lives ahead of us to figure out the details. But I... I wanted you to know that this,” he took her hand and gently guided the ring onto her finger. It was cool against her skin, shiny and new and beautiful. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it. “This is what I want. I want you beside me, and I’ll do everything in my power to make that happen. It might not be tomorrow, or next week, but soon. What do you think?” 

She stared at the ring, her hand clutched in his, for a long moment. She turned away and his face fell.

Then she reached into her cloak and presented him with another ring. 

“Here,” she said softly. 

He took it in stunned silence. 

“It was my mother’s. Father left it to me when he died,” she explained. “It won’t fit you I’m sure, but you can have it. Maybe wear it on a chain?” 

He swallowed and finally spoke. “... Thank you. So, you will...?”

“I won’t sit around waiting for you,” she said with a quavering smile. “I’m going to work hard here to keep the peace and rebuild, and... if you can do the same in Almyra and make it back to me within a year... Let’s... Let’s get married.”

He nodded quickly, grinning madly. “I... I can do that. I will. Definitely.”

“Good.”

He drew her into a deep, lingering kiss.

“Ah...” he breathed against her mouth, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Did you have to make me sweat like that, though? Goddess, I thought for a moment...”

“Someone has to keep you on your toes in peacetime,” she replied, wiping her eyes. “What better person than your wife?”

“Oh, I do like the sound of that,” he said and kissed her again. And again.

And again. 

He paused, breathing hard and fast. “D-do you want to go back to the party or...?”

She smiled and shook her head vehemently. “I’d rather stay here. With you.”

“Yeah?” He asked, very clearing asking another question entirely. “All night?” 

She nodded and kissed his chin. “Yes. I’d like that... very much.” 

When they kissed again, all hesitation quickly burned away, leaving only intensity in its wake. His hands gripped her by the waist, thumbs along her hips and long fingers curved low around her back. She wound her arms around his shoulders and spread her hands up into his hair. He made a noise low in his throat that sent heat to pool between her legs. 

She slid off her cloak, and he rushed to follow her example, wincing slightly as he took off his jacket. 

She paused, touching his arm lightly. “Are you really sure you’re alright?”

“Oh, I’m really good, and getting better every second,” he said, reaching for her again. He fumbled with the clasp at her back. “Can I... take this...?”

“Please.”

He struggled for another moment. “How do you get this damn thing off?”

She assisted him and her armored bodice soon fell down her body and onto the floor with a clatter. His hands slid under her black undershirt and up her back, pulling the thin garment over her head.

He gazed at her now bare torso up and down with open appreciation.

“What do you think?” she asked, smiling.

“I’m... thinking very little, right now.” 

“Maybe you would think better out of that shirt,” she suggested, reaching forward to tug at his cravat. 

He kissed her, which made it a little difficult to continue undressing him, but somehow they managed it. She sat back to survey her handiwork.

“Oh!” she said, looking mildly startled.

He blinked at her, then down at himself and his bare chest and up again, confused by such a reaction. “What?”

“You’re just... hairier than I thought you’d be,” she said with a nervous little laugh. 

He snorted, startled by her bluntness. “Ah... well l... Uh... “

“I like it, though,” she said warmly. “You have a very nice chest.”

His face went very red. “Yeah?” He mumbled, “G-good. You... Ah... also have very nice chests. Err, breasts. Damn it.”

Catching him so out of his element and fumbling for words might have been the proudest accomplishment of her life, and she had just won a war. 

She bit back another laugh. “Thank you.”

“Can I...?” He raised a hand to touch her.

“I really wish you would.”

They had been sitting, but they very quickly wound up tangled together on the floor, laying nearly astride one another among the blankets. He cupped her breasts in both hands, squeezing and rubbing them all over, ticklish and clumsy in his eagerness. She felt clumsy too, though, squirming in delight with every fumbling touch and trying not to giggle like an idiot. She shimmied out of her shorts and kicked them away. He helped her peel her tights down her legs and nearly tossed them out the window. His hands slid up her thighs to grip her rear and then she did giggle like and idiot, but he laughed, too. Breathless, they fell upon each other again, kissing and laughing and kissing again. Soon laughter turned into soft, almost startled moans as they started to rock against each other, legs tangled and hips colliding. The only things separating their bodies now were his straining trousers and the thin, damp silk of her panties.

After a moment she caught his hand and guided it between her legs and under the fabric.

“Dear gods,” he mumbled, eyes wide. She was hot and silky wet against his fingers. “You feel... amazing.”

He began to rub her gently at first, then when she sighed and curled into him, quickened his pace rather suddenly.

She grabbed his arm. “Oh!”

He stopped immediately. “H-have I hurt you?”

“N-no, I’m okay. Just... go a little slower, please.”

He took a deep breath and started again, pace considerably lessened, leaning over her more to adjust his stance. “Like this...?”

She bit her lip and nodded. “Yes... J-just like that...!”

He stroked her slowly, up and down and again, watching her intently. His breathing was very fast and heavy against her cheek, and she could feel his body pressed against her hip, poking into her rather insistently. Her excitement was fueling his, and that thought just turned her on more. 

After a moment she trembled and took his wrist again, guiding him a little lower, a little deeper. 

He swallowed hard. “Feeling good?”

“V-very. Ah, a-a little more...? Oh, th-there!”

She came hard against his fingers, whimpering and shaking and gasping for air as pleasure flooded her, warm trembling heat radiating from where his hand was still pressed against her. 

“Oh... w-wow,” he managed. “That... looked like it felt very good.”

“...It did.” She sighed, then turned to him with flushed face and gleaming eyes. “Will you lie down on your back?”

“Huh?”

“Lie down on your back.”

“O-okay.”

He did so, and she rolled on top of him. He watched in awe as she straddled his knees and started unlacing his trousers. When she was done he practically sprang free like a jack-in-the-box. 

“Oh my!” She said, unable to contain another giggle.

“Hey, don’t laugh!” he pleaded, but was clearly smiling. “You’re making me feel a little shy...”

The light of the candles was dim and the moonlight only revealed so much. Still, she could see enough. He was hard, dark, longer than her hand and thicker than the haft of her sword. 

She blushed and bit her lip. “I... I don’t think there’s anything for you to be shy about.”

He grinned. “Yeah?”

In answer she tugged his pants down to his ankles. He sat forward to extricate himself and kissed her again. She reached out to touch him and he jumped in her hand. He was very warm and the skin was surprisingly soft around an iron-hard core. She stroked him experimentally, causing a very satisfying series of sounds to come out of him. 

“Ah... Ah...!” he gasped, “W-wait..!”

She stopped. “Does it hurt?”

“It’s not that ... Very much the opposite. I just... don’t want this to be over quite so fast. Besides... I’d rather... be inside you.” 

“O-oh,” she said, blushing even more. “I... I think I’d like that, too.”

She squirmed out of her panties and crawled into his lap. Their bodies bumped and slid against each other, no longer anything to separate skin from skin.

He was panting against her neck now. “Ah... Gods... I want you so bad...”

“I can tell... Just... Hold still for a second.” 

She struggled to align their bodies until he took her hip in one hand and himself in the other and slowly guided them together. They met with a gasp and a groan. He pressed into her carefully at first then slipped in deeply all at once. The sensation of being filled so suddenly made her gasp in surprise, a strange, stretching pleasure buzzing all over her body and centered on where they were joined. 

It was so much more than his fingers.

“Sorry. Are you... all right?” He asked breathlessly. 

“I’m ... fine,” she managed, “It’s j-just... It’s a lot.”

“...Thanks?”

“Oh, you’re very welcome. Ah... Hold still a moment more... Oh!” 

She slipped down his legs a little to sit on him more firmly, letting out a yelp when he plunged inside her even deeper. He grunted in surprise and his hips practically jumped under her. 

“Holy... Ah... Are you okay?”

She nodded swiftly.

“Can... Can I move now? Please?”

“Yes,” she gasped, clutching at him. “Please, yes!” 

He tried to start slow, she could tell, but soon the tentative, gentle rolls of his hips became harder thrusts, plunging into her urgently. She gasped and bit down on her lip, shocked at the bursts of sharp pleasure cascading through her with every deep penetration. She had hoped it would feel good, and she had certainly enjoyed his fingers, but hadn’t expected the rest of him to feel like this. The deep, pounding sensation was so intense, so right up to the edge of pain, it sent her head spinning. 

“Oh, gods, Claude...!”

His hair was mussed, falling into his flushed face, his eyes dark and unfocused. It was so different than his normal expression, completely unguarded and raw, she could only stare in fevered amazement. Their eyes met and he leaned up to kiss her. It was deep and desperate, tongue plunging over hers in a frantic mirror to the movement of their bodies below. He moaned against her mouth, his grip on her hips going tight as he shuddered and jerked under her, his entire body going rigid. The rush of heat that filled her made her shiver. 

After a moment they collapsed on the blankets together, breathing heavily and completely spent. He pulled her against him with a deeply satisfied sigh. She pressed her face to his chest, reveling at the feel of his heartbeat thudding fast against her cheek.

“Are you all right?” she said softly. 

He could only nod dumbly for a moment. “All right? Y-Yeah. That was amazing. But you... Was that.... good?” He managed finally, “For you?” 

She smiled and kissed him. “A little bit of a bumpy ride, but nothing we can’t fix with a little practice.”

He was rendered speechless for a moment by the prospect. “Y-yeah.”

—

They lay there for a long time afterwards, side by side, simply breathing with occasional interludes of soft, lazy kissing. They were warm and content in each other’s arms, dozing and completely relaxed. The candles had completely burned out, and only the soft glow from the tower window fell over them. 

He shifted to run a hand through her hair, gazing down at her in admiration.

“Mmm... Remind me again why we didn’t do this sooner?” He asked with a sigh. 

She cupped his cheek with one hand. “Hm. That’s a very good question. Something to do with a war or...?”

“Ah, yeah, that,” he said, turning to kiss her palm. “Still... If I... If I said something earlier, would you have... um...”

“Most likely, yes.”

“Ah... ha. Damn it.”

“Why didn’t you ever say anything? You obviously wanted to.” 

“Well,” he sighed. “Mostly I was afraid... Afraid of scaring you away or messing things up or... I don’t know. I knew things would get complicated, is all. And... There were more important things at stake than my... ardor. Plus, I knew I had to leave, eventually, and I didn’t want you to ever feel like you were a temporary distraction, that I was just trying to use you...”

“Weren’t you?”

He shook his head vehemently. “Not like that. Never like that...!”

She paused, tracing a pattern on his chest. “I see.”

He sat up on one elbow, looking down at her seriously. “I needed you. But... I’ve wanted you since I was eighteen years old. I knew things wouldn’t work, not back then, and when you disappeared... I suppose I got used to holding things in.” 

“My...” she said with her own grin, “You needn’t have restrained yourself so, at least not after we were reunited.” 

“I’m realizing that now. But hey, you could have given a guy a clue, you know? I’ve gotten pretty good at reading your moods and all, but you aren’t exactly forthcoming, either.”

“I suppose you’re right. I couldn’t help it. But also... Well, first you called me ‘teach’ and then it turned into ‘my friend’... to say you were giving me mixed signals is putting it lightly.” 

He laughed, a soft rumble against her belly. “I will admit those aren’t the most, ah, romantic nicknames. But you are still my dear teach, my dear friend... my...”

“Dear?” She asked teasingly, holding her fingers up to the side of her head like antlers. “Or deer?”

He laughed again. “My dear deer?”

She smiled but shook her head. “Please, no.”

“What would you like to be called, then?”

She smiled warmly. “How about my name?”

He paused for a moment. “Byleth,” he said uncertainty, then again with more vigor. “Byleth. My dear Byleth...”

She nodded, clearly pleased. “Not bad.”

He kissed her forehead gently, then her nose, and finally against her mouth. “Mm... Byleth...” he said, voice almost a purr. “You’re very... very... dear to me.” 

She nuzzled against him, one hand cupping his jaw and pulling him down against her for another kiss. He grasped her breast, hips bumping against her, and she felt he was getting hard again. 

She laughed, rubbing against him. “Shall we... again...?”

He was breathing fast, almost panting. “C-can we?”

She nodded and he eagerly rolled on top of her.

Their coupling this time was less urgent, but no less passionate. She hugged him close with her entire body at first, an embrace almost too tight for much motion, but when she relaxed it was like a revelation. Every roll of his hips felt so good, deep and hard and so very wonderful. They rocked into each other with a slow rhythm that built and grew until they were both gasping and groaning, slick with sweat and everything else. 

“Byleth... Ah, Byleth I’m going to... !”

“Oh, me too, just... a little more... Oh! Oh, yes!”

She jerked and trembled under him, shaking in her release. He followed swiftly after, filling her with a groan and shudder. 

He leaned down to lay against her again, nuzzling her neck. “Mmnhm. How was it that time? Am I... showing marked improvement?”

“Mmm,” she mumbled thoughtfully into his shoulder. “A very solid B plus I think.”

“Harsh, Teach!” He laughed. “I’ve always been a straight A student!”

“Well, I have to leave a little room for improvement. However, I wouldn’t mind keeping you after class for some... extra credit.”

“Saints...! Are you trying to kill me?” He said, choking with laughter. “If you’d said something like that to me six years ago...”

“I’d have been fired. And you?”

“I’d have... Burst into flames? Died of a heart attack right on the spot? I’d at least have to change my pants. Good goddess above...” 

They kissed again, slowly but deeply, tongues slipping against each other. He was still on top of her, still inside her, and she felt him throb and stiffen again.

“Oh...!” She gasped in amazement. “You can still...?”

“Again?” He asked breathlessly. “Please?”

She nodded. He sat up and held her hips with both hands, driving into her at an angle that made her groan and gave her a very good view of his torso, slick with sweat and shining in the moonlight. He was so completely undone, so unbuckled and given into desires he had so clearly been holding onto for so long, it made her almost ache with it all. 

He came again with almost a growl, lifting her up off the blankets and against him as he finished. 

“Hnnhh... Ah... Ah... Byleth...”

She sighed and shivered, echoes of her own earlier pleasure rippling through her again. Gods, it felt good, but she was going to be very sore in the morning.

He collapsed beside her, chest heaving. She rolled to face him, gathering him to her. He laid his sweaty head on her shoulder and slowly his breathing calmed. When he spoke again, his voice was rough and tired.

“I... I wish I didn’t have to leave.”

“Me either,” she mumbled softly into his hair. “Though at this rate, you might need to come back in nine moons instead of twelve.”

He was nearly asleep now. “Hm?”

“... Claude.”

“Oh!” He sat up a little, staring at her with wide eyes. “Oh... Oh well I... uh...”

She laughed a little. “Don’t worry too much. It’s unlikely given the timing, but still...Perhaps we should have been a bit more careful. I suppose I’ll ask Manuela for a charm in the morning.”

An interesting combination of expressions passed over his features in quick succession. “Uh... Well... If you want to... I wouldn’t mind... Um... I mean...” 

She kissed him. “I’d love to make a family with you... Eventually.”

He sunk down against her again. “You... you really like making me sweat, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she said softly. “I do.”

“You’re making this really hard for me, you know.”

“I know,” she said, smiling sadly. 

He sighed and “I guess I’ll just have to come back as soon as possible.”

“If you don’t, I will have to do something drastic.”

“Hmm, that sounds interesting. I think I might like to see that.”

“Don’t push your luck,” she mumbled against his neck.

They fell asleep soon after that. The tower floor was not comfortable by any means, but for them it was the best sleep they’d had in a very long time.


End file.
